For Love of A Friend
by Mystic Moonwriter
Summary: My little fanfic about Lita and Ken, how their relationship began as friendship and the story of Freddie. Hope you like


Chapter 1

Hopes For Love, and the Pain it Brings

AN~ Okay folks none of these characters belong to me, please don't sue. This is my little fanfic about Ken and Lita Please R+R Keep the moon in sight and love in your heart.

The morning air was crisp and the grass was covered with frost. The young woman shivered in the skirt and sweater combo she was wearing. Even though the tan skirt fell near her ankles she still felt the cold air hit her legs. She sighed waiting for the bus anxiously, she was taller then many girls her age, as her brown hair in it's customary ponytail danced in the cold wind. Finally the bus arrived and the young woman practically leapt to enter it's warmth.

Many seats were empty and the woman sat in one heavily. Last night had been bad as she had cried throughout the majority of it. Her green eyes looked down at the floor of the yellow bus. Slowly a figure stood in the aisle his brown eyes reflecting kindness as he spoke in a gentle, quiet voice.

"Mind if I join you Lita?" he left one hand on his backpack strap waiting for her reply. She could only nod to her longtime friend. As he sat he placed his arm around her shoulder. To anyone else they would have appeared to be dating, but it was a comforting hug that he held the woman in. She looked to him gratefully, her surrogate brother he had always been there when she needed him and now was no exception.

"I just can't believe she's really gone Ken…" Lita's emerald eyes shimmered with tears though she thought she had none left to shed.

Ken just hugged her close, he had spent the entire night talking with her on the phone. So he shared the pain of the passing, for her mother had always been kind to him. She had been as much a mother as Ken's own. The young man sighed sadly, he wished he could take Lita's pain away, but all he could do was be there for her.

"I know Lita, and I am sorry," the young man's eyes were also glimmering with unshed tears, "it is sad that such a wonderful person had to leave this world." Her friend's poetic side came out when he was very serious. Which in the young woman's opinion was far too often. Right now, however, it comforted her to hear his voice.

The funeral had been yesterday and since then Lita had been quiet, reserved even to him. But he knew what it was like to lose someone you loved when his sister had died several years past. As the large bus rolled to a stop he gently helped her stand and guided her to the exit of the bus. They walked into the red brick building and entered the sea of milling students waiting for first bell.

As they found their way to Lita's locker Ken spoke to her quietly, "Are you sure you'll be alright? They'd understand if you stayed home today?" his brown eyes showed his concern as he stood to the side of the hallway to avoid getting pushed by the constantly shifting crowd.

Her voice was just barely above a whisper as she took her books from the dull gray locker, "Yes, I'll be alright Ken….thank you for…everything."

"You don't have to thank me Lita, that's what friends are for," he smiled slightly to her and was rewarded with a slight smile from the woman he cared more then anything for. As the warning bell rang he grimaced, "Wouldn't want to be late for Chemistry eh. See you at lunch." With those words he hurried down the hall.

She waited and walked to her home economics class that was two rooms from where her locker was. As her tennis shoes touched the floor she felt all eyes on her and looked down. The woman knew they felt pity, but she didn't care as she slid into her seat. This was usually her favorite class, but today nothing made her happy, not even cooking.

Mrs. Harper looked to her student and sighed, Lita was one of her favorites because she was so passionate about food and cooking. Now she seemed so melancholy it tore at the older woman's heart. For a moment she couldn't bring herself to speak, as if doing so would break into the young girl's thoughts. Slowly she realized there was a new student and she had to introduce him.

"Class I would like to introduce Freddie Richards, he is new to the school and will be staying for the duration of this course. I hope you'll all make him feel welcome at our school."

The young man stood beside Mrs. Harper, his golden hair hung over one blue eye while his hands hung behind his back. Lita estimated that he was a few inches taller then her, but he was very muscular. Hearts appeared in the eyes of every woman in the room, bringing about the vexation of the male population. The new student said nothing as the teacher told him to sit in the front of the class.

As the class got underway Lita found that the young man continually glanced her direction his eyes looking at her when he thought she hadn't seen. She was surprised that one as handsome as him could be interested in her. So curious was she that, for the time being, she forgot her sorrow. The class went by with the young woman continually noticing his looks. When the bell sounded it startled Lita almost jumped out of her chair with surprise.

Calming herself she retrieved her books and walked into the hall. The momentarily forgotten depression suddenly returned in full force. Her head went down as she walked through the throng of students hurrying to their next class. But it was just as she was walking towards her Algebra class that she heard his voice again.

"Excuse me…" she turned and was startled to see the boy from her class, his dark sapphire eyes looked at her and a mysterious half smile crossed his features, "Hi, my name is Freddie…I don't know if you saw me in Home Ec. or not. I was wondering, could you tell me your name?"

For a moment she was so surprised that he had even spoken to her. Her crimson lips moved, but at first no words came out, finally she spoke again, "Umm my my name is Lita."

He smiled charmingly and spoke softly, "A beautiful name for a very beautiful lady."

The young man was rewarded by a slight flush of red on her cheeks. For a moment she found she couldn't talk or even think clearly. The girl's emerald eyes locked on the carpet and she couldn't help noticing the intricate design. At that moment the bell rung and she looked up at him.

"I….err….I'm going to be late, I'll see you later Freddie," she darted of trying desperately to calm the fluttering of her heart. Her Algebra teacher, Mr. Sanderson, didn't mention her tardiness in light of all that had happened to the young girl. Lita tried to follow her teacher's lesson, but thoughts of her mother and of the new boy continued to interfere with her thinking.

Finally, the day wore on until the lunch hour. As Lita walked outside to the courtyard she sat on the bench she and Ken had ate at since they had started going to school together. He was perhaps the closest friend she had ever had. But somewhere inside of her she felt a slight urging, she felt something stronger for him. But that was a secret, for she was fearful of destroying a friendship that was the best she had ever known.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her friend's soft voice, "Hey stranger," he smiled, his light brown eyes looking at her. She smiled warmly and moved her book bag which had been saving his seat. As the young man sat he couldn't help but notice his friend's good looks.

_'Lita…I wish you knew how I truly feel about you…and even more so I wish you would say you felt the same about me.'_

No one knew his secret for he was afraid of her finding out. They had been friends for so long that he wasn't sure she would ever see him as anything else. They ate their lunches in silence for a long time just glad of each other's company. Finally Ken spoke quietly to her, he had noticed that she seemed more thoughtful then she had been earlier.

"I saw you in the hall after first period. Who was the guy you were talking to?" his tone was only one of mild curiosity. But she knew he would be probing Freddie if he found she was interested in him. In all honesty however, Lita wasn't quite sure how she felt about the young man.

"Just a new guy is all. His name is Freddie," she answered a bit quickly.

"You like him?" Ken was direct if anything.

For a moment she thought how best to answer that question, "I don't know Ken. He seems nice, I mean our first conversation together and he already complimented both my name and my looks."

Ken grinned at her, "Can't argue with him there."

Lita sighed, "I just don't know Ken, what if he was just being nice. Remember what happened with Jeremy?"

"Yea, you told him you liked him and he laughed," Ken's voice was dark with his anger.

She raised a brow at the suddenness of his change in moods, "Well you taught him a few lessons with those fist of yours."

He chuckled, "You bet I did, no one messes with you without dealing with me." She smiled slightly and he was glad to take her mind off of the depression she had felt. They talked through the remainder of the lunch before returning to their classes. Freddie was in her History class as well and he talked to her afterwards. He asked her if she was seeing anyone and feigned surprise when she answered no.

He couldn't talk too much after that, because the new student had to get home. Before he left, however, he gave the young woman his home address and phone number. Lita just looked at it surprised as he walked away into the bustling crowd. Something stirred within her as she watched him through the sea of students.

It had been nearly two months since Freddie had arrived in the school. Lita had become very close with him. He had eaten lunch with her on several occasions and she called him on the phone often. As her Biology teacher Mrs. Grenwood, continued her lecture, the young woman fingered the rose he had given her. The young woman had been in a near state of shock when she had received the fragile flower. Many girls looked enviously at her desk and she couldn't remove the blush that gave her cheeks the same color as the crimson rose. 

Her feet were light as a feather when she skipped to the courtyard. Ken was eating at his usual spot and he stopped seeing his friend. She sat without a word and twirled the flower between her thumb and forefinger. The young man shook his head, he had yet to meet Freddie, but he could easily see the effect he was having on Lita. His light brown eyes flickered with the sadness he was feeling before he covered it up.

When he saw the blonde hair and blue eyes approaching he stood causing Lita to regard him quizzically, "I don't want to be a bother," Ken said indicating Freddie's approach. For several tense moments the two men regarded each other silently. Finally Ken looked at Lita, "I'll see you later."

"Ken…" but he was gone leaving her confused and upset. He had never done that before, something had upset him. Tears slid down her cheeks as Freddie sat down.

"Such eyes weren't meant for tears," Freddie gently wiped her eyes and looked at her, "Was that Ken?"

"Yes…he's never done that before, walked away from me…." the young woman looked down sadly.

_'Perhaps it's because of all the time I spend with Freddie…I have been ignoring him a lot lately. Oh Ken I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.'_

Freddie looked at her, "He'll come back. Just needs some time to himself." She looked at him and nodded hopefully. Then the young man surprised her by taking her hand and kissing it softly, "I know this may not be the best time, but…would you give me the honor of being my date for the homecoming dance Saturday?"

Lita sucked in her breath, no one had asked her to a dance before. Certainly not like he was, slowly she nodded and whispered the word, "Yes."

He smiled broadly, "Then I will be the happiest man there, so I'll pick you up around sixish?"

She nodded feeling at a loss for words. As they walked she realized he hadn't removed her hand from his. The young woman smiled slightly and walked a little taller. As they passed people glanced at them curious as to the newest couple in the school. But no one watched more intently then Ken did, his brown eyes looked downcast.

"I was going to ask her to the dance…take a chance on telling her how I felt. And then this guy shows up taking my one chance away."

He stormed away and muttered softly. He needed to blow of some steam and there were only a few ways to really do that.

Lita felt down heartened, she hadn't seen Ken all week and that worried her. He never returned her calls, was never around for lunch. She didn't understand what was wrong, but she was worried. Checking her watch she nodded. It was nearly five o'clock which meant that Ken would most likely be in the gym. She jogged across the street to the large black building.

Passing through the double glass doors her ears were assaulted by the sound of punching bags being hit, shuffling feet, weights being used and other sounds. She scanned the room for her friend when Ken's trainer, Marcus, passed her and smiled kindly.

"Hey kiddo, how are you?" he was an older man, but he always treated her nice. He said she helped Ken fight better somehow.

"I'm good Marcus, is Ken here?" she asked hesitantly. Despite being kind towards her, the young woman still felt nervous without her friend around.

"Yea, he's over there with Lance, go ahead. Kid needs a break anyway, been working very hard lately."

Lita's long skirt rustled as she walked to where her friend hammered his taped fist into a punching bag. Sweat dripped to the floor as his muscular arms flexed with each hit. Lance, the man holding the bag, took a half step backwards with every hit. Looking up the young man stopped seeing his longtime friend. For a moment he said nothing then looked at Lance and nodded that he was done for now.

"Lita?" Ken's breathing was fast as he wiped his face with a towel, "What are you doing here?"

The young woman's dark emerald eyes regarded him for a moment then she asked softly, "Are you mad at me Ken?"

He looked at her dumbfounded, "How could I be mad at you? Have I said so?"

The young woman looked down, "But you seem so distant these days. Why?"

"I just didn't want to bug you. You've got the dance coming up and I don't want to bother you these days. Besides I got that title to win. By the way, how is the wonder guy?" he hammered the punching bag extremely hard but the woman hadn't noticed. She was too busy rattling on about how happy she was with Freddie. She couldn't tell that Ken hadn't stopped his merciless hammering of the bag with every word. Finally he slumped to a bench with sweat glistening over his eyes. Lita knelt worriedly beside him as he drenched himself with water.

"Are you alright Ken??" he regarded her for a moment then nodded. She smiled and touched his arm. The young fighter gave her a slight smile and she stood. He stood as well shaking the tank top shirt loose. After she had gone the young man couldn't help but think, she still cared about him. But he couldn't shake the feeling he was losing her. He thought back to Freddie and smashed the bag again leaving a considerable dent in the exterior.


End file.
